Portales man facing felony charges

After a short chase, a Portales man was arrested Friday on charges of failing to register as a sex offender and resisting arrest, according to the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office.

Thomas Covington, 43, was apprehended near South Roosevelt Road 5 Lane and South Roosevelt Road U about 11:30 a.m., according to a news release.

The charge of failure to register as a sex offender is a fourth-degree felony, and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer is a misdemeanor.

Chief Deputy Malin Parker said Covington was arrested earlier this year. A condition of his bond was to register. However, he failed to do so, Parker said.

When a deputy contacted Covington Friday, he ran, Parker said. The deputy chased and caught Covington and took him to Roosevelt County Detention Center.

Covington was being held in lieu of a $6,500 cash-only bond.

According to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety website, Covington was convicted of attempted forcible sexual abuse, third degree, in Utah in 1998. According to Utah state law, forcible sexual abuse involves “touching of private parts or performing other indecent acts not amounting to rape to someone age 14 or older without consent.”